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January 19, 2011

USPTO News Briefs

Today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and IP Australia (IPAU) announced that the two offices had agreed to extend their existing pilot bilateral Paris Convention Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) agreement and enter into a new PPH pilot agreement utilizing Patent Cooperation Treaty results (PCT-PPH). Under the Paris Convention PPH framework, an applicant receiving a determination from one office that a claim or claims is allowable may request that a corresponding application pending before the other office receive faster examination. Under the PCT-PPH framework, which is set to begin on January 24, 2011, faster examination is available for an application receiving positive PCT international search reports with written opinions or international preliminary examination reports. The prior PCT-PPH agreement between the offices was limited to search and examination results. The extended PPH and new PCT-PPH programs are scheduled to continue until April 13, 2012.

USPTO requirements for participation in the USPTO-IPAU PPH program can be found here, and IPAU requirements can be here.

USPTO and NBPR Expand PPH Program

Yesterday, the USPTO and the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland (NBPR) announced that the two offices had agreed to expand their existing bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program to include international search reports with written opinions, and international preliminary examination reports developed within the framework of the international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The PPH program between the two offices, which began on July 6, 2009, had been previously limited to search and examination results under the Paris Convention.

USPTO-CIPO PPH Extended

The USPTO recently announced that its Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), which began on January 28, 2008 and which was set to expire on January 28, 2011, was being implemented on an ongoing basis as a result of the program's success. In addition, the USPTO and CIPO had jointly decided to removed the program's pilot status. Information regarding the requirements and procedures for the program can be found here.

USPTO Soliciting Public Feedback on Patent Examining Procedures

Last week, the USPTO announced that it was introducing an online discussion tool to solicit input from the patent community regarding how the Office can update and improve the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP). According to the Office, the new tool will facilitate discussion and feedback on the MPEP by encouraging the public to post comments about the current text, on a section-by-section basis, to point out errors, suggest clarifications, and suggest examples of interpretations; posting preliminary content and encouraging the community to comment on the preliminary content before it becomes official; periodically summarizing and following up on the comments on each section to ensure that meritorious suggestions are acted upon while streamlining the comment process; and providing a forum for the patent community to discuss and debate topics such as how to interpret recent court decisions.

As an initial step, the Office is seeking feedback regarding Chapters 500 (Receipt and Handling of Mail and Papers) and 600 (Parts, Form, and Content of Application) of the MPEP. The Office plans to add other chapters in the coming months. The online tool for the MPEP can be found here.

A similar online tool is being introduced to solicit feedback regarding the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP).

New URLs for EFS-Web and Private PAIR

Last week, the USPTO announced that it will be upgrading the EFS-Web and Private PAIR infrastructure on January 31, 2011 in order to increase system capacity and stability. As part of this upgrade, the EFS-Web and Private PAIR will be given the following new URLs:

The Office noted that after the upgrade, anyone accessing an old URL will be redirected to a webpage containing the new URLs.

E-mail Hotline Established for Detroit Satellite Office

Earlier this month, the USPTO announced that it was creating an e-mail hotline to provide hiring information regarding the USPTO's new satellite office in Detroit. Those interested in working in the new satellite office should send an e-mail to DetroitHiring@uspto.gov. The Office noted that details regarding job openings and application procedures will be sent out in the spring; more than 100 new positions are expected to be filled within the satellite office's first year of opening. The satellite office's location and an anticipated opening date will be announced in the coming months.